Fox To Release UMD Movies For PSP

Century City, Calif. — This summer, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has said it will release movies on the Universal Media Disc (UMD) format used by Sony’s new handheld PlayStation Portable (PSP) gaming device.

In a statement announcing the decision, studio executives said they support “technologically advanced” formats such as UMD if they offer “virtually impenetrable copyright protection.”

“The technologically advanced PSP enables our consumers to experience Fox movies with the same high-quality picture and audio to which they have grown accustomed, while securing our film assets with a unique hardware-based copy protection,” Mike Dunn, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Worldwide’s president said in a statement announcing the decision.

The studio said initial title releases are targeted at the platform's core demo of men ages 18 to 34. The first five UMD releases will include “I, Robot,” “Napoleon Dynamite,” “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,” “Super Troopers” and “Predator.” The first shipments will reach stores in July, with subsequent release waves scheduled to follow that.